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| - The Seattle Mariners' two-game home series against the San Francisco Giants was postponed on Tuesday due to poor air quality caused by devastating wildfires, the team said. A statement from the Mariners said the two games would be played in San Francisco on Wednesday and Thursday instead. "Unfortunately, the air quality in Seattle has gotten worse overnight here at T-Mobile Park and it is not clearing at all today. Forecasters expect it to clear late Thursday and into Friday morning," Mariners chief operating officer Kevin Mather said in a statement. "As always, the health and safety of the players, and our staff is our first priority." Thick smog from wildfires blazing throughout California, Oregon and Washington has shrouded swathes of the region for several days, leaving some cities facing dangerous air quality index (AQI) readings. On Tuesday afternoon, the AQI reading for Seattle was 249, deemed to very unhealthy for anyone breathing the air. Good air quality is typically regarded to be any reading between 0-50. The decision to reschedule Tuesday's games came 24 hours after Seattle hosted the Oakland Athletics on Monday in a double-header under a thick cloud of smoke at T-Mobile Park. Several players were left complaining at the conditions, questioning whether the games should have been allowed to go ahead. "I'm a healthy 22-year-old. I shouldn't be gasping for air or missing oxygen. I'll leave it at that," Oakland pitcher Jesus Luzardo said. Other players, including the Athletics' centre fielder Ramon Laureano, opted to wear masks during the game. Earlier Tuesday, the LPGA Tour announced that their Cambia Portland Classic in Oregon had been shortened to a 54-hole event because of unhealthy air quality. The tournament was due to tee off on Thursday but will now start on Friday. Infernos across the western US have burned more than five million acres (two million hectares) this year, killed dozens of people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Smoke from the wildfires has even reached the East Coast and Europe, according to the National Weather Service. rcw/gph
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